Michelle's Guestbook

I lost my mom to Alz .... she never knew i had Open H Surgery .... you are lucky to have yours. I had minimal invasive .... and you??? You are young and pretty ... I was in the same boat .... just trying to find a new doctor and she said .... you have a really loud MV. I am 54 now and never weighted more than 123 pounds .... I am vegan/vegetarian 20 years ...

Wow You look great !! My name is Curt Benttinen and I had my aortic valve replaced last year at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston . I feel like I'm 18 years old again I'm soon to be 48 . I live on Cape Cod ,Centerville . I'm so happy for you that it's over and you will be fine . Just try to walk as much as you can and drink lot's of water to flush out those meds you got from surgery . If I can help you in your recovery give me a howler ,I'm on facebook . At 11 weeks I was back in the gym with no restrictions at all and yes I take warfarin now because I have a St Jude's Mechanical aortic valve it's no big deal at all, Trust Me !! Stay Strong and by the 2 week post op mark you will be feeling awesome !!!.

Thinking of you as tomorrow you will have your surgery. What a relief it will be to have the procedure and be on the mend! Hugs and best wishes, Bonnie

Best wishes for your surgery on Monday Michelle.. We didn't get to talk but if you want to my number is 339-224-8689 if you need last minute reassurance.. I will be thinking of you and praying for your fast recovery.. civita

I read your post with interest as we have had similar circumstances. I had the same family doctor since 1979. This past April a PA from Humana came to our house for my in-home wellness check. She listened to my heart and said you have a heart murmur. I said no I don't that's impossible. Well on June 6th I had my wellness doctor appointment with my family doctor. He did all the normal stuff and listened to my heart and put the stethoscope on my chest and then on my back. He started to walk away and at that moment I said to him, the insurance PA from Humana said I have a heart murmur!!! He came back over to me and listened again and said you do have a heart murmur. I saw him for over 30 years and he never heard it before. He scheduled me for an echocardiogram which showed that the aortic valve was regurgitating - how can someone miss something like this!! I then was scheduled to go to a cardiac surgeon. I didn't know what to expect so I went alone....the doctor came in and started talking about different kinds of valves and I said to him "What are you saying? Are you saying I need a heart valve?" Then he said, "Yes." Then I said, "When? like 10 years from now?" And he said, "No, now!" Who in the right mind tells someone who is alone that they need surgery when all I thought I was doing was getting information. I had no idea that I really had something so wrong with my aortic valve. Then I had to go back several weeks later after having the heart catherization in the hospital and this time my husband came with me cause I just didn't really like this doctor and I didn't want to be alone when this were going to move forward. While he was talking to us he then added, "you need a new aorta, too!" My husband and I looked at each other and I said, "You never told me that." So at that point I said I wanted to get a second opinion because now I really didn't trust this doctor. I felt in my gut so uncomfortable with this doctor. I then had to go to the counselor at the cardiac center because I was so confused and was getting very depressed. By my second visit with the counselor I knew I had to find another good surgeon. This website HeartValveSurgery.com gave me a list of doctors and hospitals and I decided to go to the University of Virginia Hospital and I chose Dr. John Kern as my surgeon based on information I found on the website. My initial calls to UVA were great and everyone was so helpful - even finding out that all my records were sent to the wrong department from the first surgeon and also that my echocardiogram images were not sent because the machine to do that was broken - if I hadn't been persistent it would have been a nightmare. It's important to do all your research and make sure you have all you information at hand so you can make the best decision and so you can feel comfortable in your decision on what you need to do for you. It's okay to be scared - but when you have all your ducks in order the fear will go away - you need to do what you need to do. I had no idea the pain would be so severe when I had the surgery, but honestly it was only bad for a few days and then as I was getting back on my feet each day became better than the one before - you have to look at the result down the road. Otherwise I'm sure none of us would do it - but adding years to your life is what you have to remember you are doing that for your loved ones and your family. It's well worth it!!